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Do any of you use the FURminator on your Cavaliers? Thoughts? Does it work or would you steer clear?

I started using a Furminator a month ago. It amazes me as to the mounds of fluff it takes out. Couple that with the Dysons we own, and the house is relatively hairfree....kind of like the top of my head.

Tim

"May you live as long as you want, and may you not want as long as you live"....an Irish Blessing

So an update for everyone... I have the Dyson Animal Upright, the Dyson cordless handheld and the furminator. The combination of these 3 have gotten the house cleaned and are keeping up with the hair supply! I am using the furminator once a week and vaccuming every other day with the handheld with an in depth on the weekends with the upright. The Dyson Animal was a good recommendation and has worked really well. I am not sure how one adorable dog has so much hair to give but thanks to everyone for the awesome recommendations!!!!

I'd be cautious with the Furminator -- it can be hard on the skin and some recommend it just once every couple of months, not as a regular grooming tool (even though they say it can be used a couple times a week -- but that seems major overload for a breed without any undercoat such as a cavalier. The lack of undercoat also means the tool can more easily come in contact with the skin).

The Furminator is interesting -- I've found it really doesn't work at all for many cavaliers. For half of mine it takes up no hair at all even though they do shed. It does work for some of the others but I only use it every few months. Maybe because of the single rather that double coat, and the nature of the individual dog's coat!

As Karlin said, my breeder also strongly recommended against using the FURminator due to the stripping, especially if you are showing it is considered cutting the coat. I use it on my parents wirey Cairn terrier but havent used it on my 5 month girl yet as it seems like it would hurt her little body. I have the FURminator puppy tool though which is just a comb and a small slicker brush, which I use every couple days. However, my breeder DID highly recommend the FURminator de-shedding shampoo and conditioner. I use an oatmeal shampoo followed by the de-shedding conditioner, but Im not sure if i can really comment on the effectiveness since my girl is still a pup. Im definitely going to look into getting the dyson animal handheld though it sounds great.

Many people may think I am committing sacrilige...but since she will not be shown, I am intending on having Lady trimmed regularly once the hair gets really long....

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I have cut back on the furminator use but I think her puppy coat has worked its was out. I do believe that combined with the warm summer weather was the cause of the major increase in shedding. I do highly recommend the Dyson handheld, it was an awesome suggestion from this forum!